Sensor confirmation method and event identifying method of smart detection system

ABSTRACT

There is provided a smart detection system including multiple sensors and a central server. The central server confirms a model of every sensor and a position thereof in an operation area. The central server confirms an event position and predicts a user action according to event signals sent by the multiple sensors.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/398,778, filed on Apr. 30, 2019, the full disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Disclosure

This disclosure generally relates to a smart detection system and, moreparticularly, to a smart detection system applicable to smart home thatincludes multiple sensors having identical or different sensor types.

2. Description of the Related Art

The smart home is a part of a smart city. However, in addition tocontrolling home appliances and lamps in the smart home, how todetermine a target to be controlled and a position thereof depends onthe detection of sensors. Especially when a single control center isused to control all controllable home appliances and lamps at the sametime, the method for determining the target to be controlled is anissue.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a smart detection system that identifiesan event position or predicts an event occurrence according to detectionresults of multiple sensors to perform the control on home appliancesand/or lamps.

The present disclosure further provides a smart detection system thatbuilds up an operation area using a robot and confirms a position ofevery sensor in the operation area via communication between the robotand multiple sensors.

The present disclosure provides a sensor confirmation method applied toa robot that operates in an operation area. The sensor confirmationmethod includes the steps of: detecting, by the robot, existence of afirst sensor by a first indicating signal, wherein the first indicatingsignal contains first identification information of the first sensor;receiving first wireless data containing first sensor information fromthe first sensor; capturing first image frames, by the robot, containingthe first indicating signal of the first sensor, wherein the firstindicating signal is transmitted by an optical light; and identifyingwhether sensor message indicated by the first identification informationmatches the first sensor information for sensor confirmation.

The present disclosure further provides an event identifying methodincluding the steps of: receiving, by a central server, a first eventsignal from a first sensor and a second event signal from a secondsensor, respectively; and identifying, by the central server, a specificevent when a time sequence of receiving the first event signal and thesecond event signal matches a predetermined operation pattern of a user.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-image sensor isreferred to a sensor that does not output two-dimensional image framebut outputs an event signal for indicating an event occurrence. Forexample, a transceiver of the sensor outputs a digital value, e.g., 11or 00, to indicate the occurrence of an event, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a sensor model includessensor information such as a type, a batch number and a maker. Thecentral server confirms a protocol with a sensor based on the sensormodel thereof. For example, the protocol includes a flickering mode ofan indicator of the sensor, and the protocol is previously stored in amemory of the central server or downloaded from the network or cloud.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a position of a sensor is,for example, a space such as a living room, a bed room, a hallway, abathroom or a kitchen. The sensor position is also referred to adetection range of a sensor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present disclosurewill become more apparent from the following detailed description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a smart detection system according toone embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a smart detection system according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of flickering modes of indicators in asmart detection system according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4A is a flow chart of an operating method a smart detection systemaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a flow chart of a sensor registering method applicable to asmart detection system according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of identifying an event position by asmart detection system according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5B is a flow chart of an event identifying method of a smartdetection system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A is an operational schematic diagram of a smart detection systemaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6B is a flow chart of an event identifying method of a smartdetection system according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

It should be noted that, wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

The smart detection system in the present disclosure includes at leastone sensor to detect an environment change or a user command, andincludes a host to receive a detected result from the sensor and toprovide related service. The smart detection system is applicable to theautomatic detection and control in a smart home to realize the purposesof accurately identifying an event position and predicting therequirement of a family member. In some aspects, the detected result ofthe smart detection system is sent to a second location for beingmonitored via a local network and/or a wireless network.

Please referring to FIG. 1, it is a schematic diagram of a smartdetection system 100 according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The smart detection system 100 includes multiple sensors 111to 115 respectively arranged within an operation area in differentspaces or at different positions such as a living room, a bedroom, ahallway, a bathroom, a kitchen, a balcony and a garage, but not limitedto. Each of the sensors 111 to 115 is selected from a thermal sensor, anaudio sensor, a light sensor, a motion sensor, a force sensor, anacceleration sensor (or G-sensor) and a physiological sensor, but notlimited to. Each of the sensors 111 to 115 is used to provide a detectedsignal corresponding to a type thereof, e.g., a temperature signal, asound signal, a light signal, a motion signal of an object, a pressuresignal, an acceleration signal of an object or a biomedical signal. Apart of the sensors 111 to 115 have an identical sensor type, or all ofthe sensors 111 to 115 have different sensor types.

It should be mentioned that, according to different applications, a partof the multiple sensors are arranged in a same space. For example,sensors of different types are arranged in the same space to detectdifferent events, and the different sensors in the same space haveidentical or different detection ranges. For example, sensors of anidentical type are arranged in the same space but have differentdetection ranges, detection angles or detection directions.

The smart detection system 100 also includes a robot 13 implemented as ahost of the smart detection system 100 to recognize and communicate withthe sensors 111 to 115, which are preferably not physically connectedwith the robot 13. In the embodiment, the robot 13 is capable of movingaround the operation area. In another embodiment, the host may beimplemented as a non-moving device and is used to receive informationfrom a moving robot to recognize and communicate with the sensors 111 to115. For example, in a case that the robot 13 is a host, the robot 13receives the detected signal from the sensors 111 to 115. In a case thatthe smart detection system 100 has another host instead of the robot 13,the robot 13 receives the detected signal from the sensors 111 to 115and transfers the received detected signal to the host.

In the embodiment, the smart detection system 100 further includes aninternet connecter 15 to transmit the detected signal from the sensors111 to 115 or a control signal from the robot 13 to an internet serveror an external cloud. In another embodiment, the internet connecter 15is embedded in the host.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is a block diagram of a smart detection system100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, including asensor 21 and a robot 13. The sensor 21 is used to indicate any one ofthe multiple sensors 111 to 115 in FIG. 1. The sensor 21 includes atleast an indicator 211, a transceiver 212, a detector 213 and aprocessor 214.

In some embodiments, the indicator 211 is an optical light source, adirectional speaker or other signal emitters which could emit indicatingsignal within a limited angle or range. In the present disclosure, alight source is taken as an example for illustrating the indicator 211.The light source is preferably an invisible light source, e.g., aninfrared light emitting diode or an infrared laser diode, and flickersat a predetermined pattern when being turned on.

For example referring to FIG. 3, it is a schematic diagram of flickeringmodes of indicators 211 in a smart detection system 100 according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure, wherein each vertical lineindicates lighting up the light source. For example in FIG. 3, a firstlight source of sensor model I flickers in a first mode, a second lightsource of sensor model II flickers in a second mode, a third lightsource of sensor model III flickers in a third mode. The light source ofone sensor model has one emission pattern indicated by a flickering modeand is different from the emission pattern of other sensor models. Theflickering mode of the light source indicates a model of the sensor 21including one or more information of a sensor type, a batch number, amaker, the emission pattern and so on, referred as sensor informationherein. It should be mentioned that the emission pattern of the presentdisclosure is formed by a single light source or by multiple lightsources, and the emission pattern includes one or more features of anemission frequency, an intensity variation, a phase variation, a layoutof multiple light sources.

The flickering mode of the light source of every sensor 21 has aprotocol with a central server (e.g., the host/robot) for the centralserver distinguishing different sensors 21 as described below, and theflickering mode is referred as identification information herein.

The transceiver 212 is, for example, a RF transceiver, a Bluetoothtransceiver, a Zigbee transceiver or the like. The transceiver 212 sendswireless data containing sensor information of the corresponding sensor111 to 115.

The detector 213 is used to detect an environment change and generate adetected signal respectively. The environment change is determinedaccording to a sensor type, such as detecting the change of temperature,sound and light, the motion of an object, the pressure, the accelerationof an object, the physiological characteristics of a living body and soon. The detected signal of the detector 213 is sent to the processor 214for post-processing.

The processor 214 is a digital signal processor (DSP), microcontroller(MCU), graphical processing unit (GPU), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) or a central processing unit (CPU). Theprocessor 214 is electrically connected to the indicator 211, thetransceiver 212 and the detector 213. The processor 214 is used tocontrol the indicator 211 to emit light with a predetermined pattern,and controls the transceiver 212 to further send a detected signal tothe robot 13. The detected signal may indicate an event occurrence, forexample, a detected temperature being larger than a temperaturethreshold, a detected sound being larger than a sound threshold, adetected light intensity being larger than an intensity threshold, adetected object motion being larger than a variation threshold, adetected force being larger than a force threshold or a detectedacceleration being larger than an acceleration threshold, a detectedphysiological characteristic exceeding a predetermined threshold,wherein every threshold is stored in the corresponding sensor 21.

In one non-limiting embodiment, the detected signal directly containsthe detected value generated by the detector 213. In anothernon-limiting embodiment, the processor 214 processes the detected valueat first to identify whether the detected value indicates an eventoccurrence, and generate a detected signal (e.g., at least one data bit)to indicate the event occurrence.

The robot 13 includes an image sensor 131, a transceiver 132, a memory133 and a processor 134. In some embodiments, the robot 13 furtherincludes an auxiliary image sensor 135 as a monitoring device. Forexample, the image sensor 131 senses invisible light; and the auxiliaryimage sensor 135 senses visible light such as a color image sensor. Therobot 13 moves in an operation area constructed thereby including aliving room, a bedroom, a hallway, a bathroom, a kitchen, a balcony anda garage to perform the sensor scanning and environment monitoring. Therobot 13 constructs a map of the operation area by recording movingpaths thereof, by acquiring and recording 2D or 3D images of every spaceusing an image sensor (e.g., 131 or another image sensor), by usingsound wave (in this case the robot 13 further including a sounddetector) or radio wave (in this case the robot 13 further including anecho detector), or by using other conventional way to construct aworking map without particular limitations.

It is appreciated that when the indicator 211 is a directional speaker,the image sensor 131 is replaced by a directional microphone. When theindicator 211 is other signal emitters, the image sensor 131 is replacedby a corresponding signal receiver.

The image sensor 131 is, for example, a CCD image sensor, a CMOS imagesensor or the like. In this embodiment, the image sensor 131 operates intwo ways. One operation is to acquire multiple image frames of theemission pattern of the indicator 211 (e.g., referring to FIG. 3) ofeach sensor 21, e.g., the image acquiring preferably synchronizing withthe light emission. In order to be able to synchronize with multipleemission patterns, the image acquiring frequency is larger than anemission frequency of each emission pattern. The image sensor 131 itselfhas a digital signal processor to directly identify whether theflickering mode (e.g., identification information) matches apredetermined emission pattern (e.g., known from the protocol), and anidentified result (e.g., Yes or No indicated by at least one bit data)is sent to the processor 134.

Another operation of the image sensor 131 is to send acquired imageframes to the processor 134 for the post-processing. The post-processingis to, for example, identify whether a sensor message associated withthe flickering mode matches (e.g., having identical coding) the sensorinformation contained in the wireless data sent by the transceiver 212of the sensor 21 to perform the sensor confirmation. Or, the imageframes are sent to the internet or external cloud via the internetconnector 15.

The transceiver 132 is used to communicate with the transceiver 212 ofevery sensor 21 via a predetermined protocol, i.e. the transceivers 212and 132 have an identical type to communicate with each other. Thetransceiver 132 sends a request to the transceiver 212 of each sensor 21and receives a wireless data, e.g., ACK and sensor information, fromevery transceiver 212, i.e., the robot 13 configured as a master and thesensor 21 configured as a slave.

In another embodiment, the robot 13 is configured as a slave and thesensor 21 configured as a master to perform the communicationtherebetween. In such embodiment, the transceiver 212 sends a request tothe transceiver 132, wherein the request could include the sensorinformation of the sensor 21. So that the robot 13 compares the sensorinformation from the request with the identification information fromthe captured indicating signal of the indicator 211 to identify andregister the sensor 21 embedded with the above transceiver 212.

The memory 133 includes a volatile memory and/or non-volatile memorythat store an algorithm for identifying the event position, variousthresholds and parameters. The algorithm is implemented by softwareand/or hardware codes.

Please referring to FIG. 4A, it is a flow chart of an operating methodof a smart detection system 100 according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the method including: entering a scan mode (StepS31); identifying and confirming a sensor (Step S33); entering anoperation mode (Step S35); receiving an event signal (Step S37); andmoving to an event position (Step S39).

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4A together, one example of the operating methodis illustrated hereinafter.

Step S31: The smart detection system 100 enters a scan mode by thecontrolling of a user (via a physical button, a touch panel, a voicecontrol or a remote control), or automatically enters everypredetermined time interval, e.g., once a day. The smart detectionsystem 100 also automatically enters the scan mode when receivingwireless data, via the transceiver 132, of an unknown sensor (not beingrecorded). In the scan mode, said wireless data contains the pairingrequest such as the ACK and sensor information. In the operation modedescribed below, said wireless data contains the detected signal andcall signal.

Step S33: After entering the scan mode, the robot 13 starts to constructan operation area (if already constructed, then omitted), and an exampleof constructing a coverage map has been illustrated above and thusdetails thereof are not repeated again. Meanwhile, the robot 13 confirmsevery sensor position in a first scanning (no sensor been recorded).During other scanning after the first scanning, the robot 13 confirmsonly new sensor(s). In some non-limiting embodiments, the robot 13further gives an assigned number to each confirmed sensor. The robot 13confirms every sensor position during building up the operation area, orthe operation area is built up at first and then the sensor position isconfirmed sequentially, e.g., based on the scanned 2D or 3D images ofbackground environment close to and/or behind the sensor to beconfirmed.

After the operation area is constructed, for example, the robot 13 movesto a first sensor (e.g., sensor 114 in FIG. 1), and confirms a firstposition (e.g., living room in FIG. 1) in the operation area and, insome cases, assigns a first number, e.g., assigned number 1 (i.e.firstly been recorded), of the first sensor 114 according to the firstmode of the light source 211 of the first sensor 114 and the firstwireless data from the wireless transceiver 212 of the first sensor 114.The memory 133 is stored with data of the first sensor 114 including amodel, position, emission pattern and given number of the first sensor114.

The robot 13 detects the existence of a sensor by an indicating signalthereof. For example, when the image sensor 131 detects a firstindicating signal containing the first identification information, thetransceiver 132 records the first emission pattern and sends a request.Then, the transceivers 212 of multiple sensors all receive this requestand respectively send wireless data of the associated sensor. The robot13 needs to distinguish different wireless data from different sensors.

In one embodiment, the request contains information associated with thefirst mode. The processor 214 of every sensor 21 recognizes thisinformation at first, and only the sensor 21 matches this informationsends ACK via the transceiver 212 thereof and continuous to flicker inthe first mode. The sensors not matching this information stopsflickering for a predetermined time interval. When the processor 134 ofthe robot 13 identifies that the continuously detected first indicatingsignal matches the first sensor information in the first wireless data(e.g., the ACK), a first model, a first position, an emission patternand a first number of the first sensor 114 are registered and recordedin the memory 133.

In another embodiment, the processor 134 of the robot 13 identifies atime sequence of receiving the ACK from different sensors. It is assumedthat the wireless data of the sensor 21 within a current field of viewof the image sensor 131 of the robot 13 is received at first, and theinformation that is received at first is considered as first sensorinformation.

In an alternative embodiment, the robot 13 sends another request tocause the light source of different sensors 21 to flicker at a differentpredetermined mode, and the processor 134 identifies which of themultiple sensors flickers in a way matching the correspondingpredetermined mode according to image frames captured by the imagesensor 131. It is possible that the robot 13 recognizes differentsensors in other ways based on both the flickering mode and wirelessdata of the sensors. For example, if the indicator 211 is not a lightsource, the flickering mode refers to intensity fluctuating of theindicating signal.

In an alternative embodiment, if the whole smart detection system 100including the robot 13 and multiple sensors is provided by the sameprovider, each sensor has unique identification information which isrecognizable by the robot 13. That is, as long as detecting oneidentification information contained in the indicating signal, the robot13 knows which sensor has been detected. In this case, the robot 13 onlyneeds to records the position of every sensor in the scan mode withoutfurther confirmation with each sensor by communicating wireless data.

Next, when the processor 134 identifies that there is other wirelessdata not being associated with the recorded sensor data, the robot 13continuously moves to a second sensor (e.g., sensor 112 in FIG. 1) anddetects the existence of a second sensor by a second indicating signal.Similarly, when a current field of view of the image sensor 131 appearsthe second mode (i.e. second identification information contained in thesecond indicating signal), the robot 13 communicates with the secondsensor 112 using the above mentioned method to cause the secondtransceiver 212 to send second wireless data containing second sensorinformation. The robot 13 also determines a second position (e.g.,hallway in FIG. 1) in the operation area and a second number, in somecases, of the second sensor 112 according to the second indicatingsignal and the second wireless data. The second model, second positionand second number of the second sensor 112 are recorded in the memory133.

The second sensor 112 and the first sensor 114 have identical ordifferent sensor types. When the robot 13 confirms that all sensors inthe operation area are scanned, e.g., in the operation area noflickering mode not being detected or no received wireless data notbeing matched, the scan mode is ended and the robot 13 returns to acharge station. A position of the charge station is arranged at anyproper position in the operation area without particular limitations.

Step S35: When the scan mode is ended, an operation mode is enteredautomatically. Or, when the scan mode is ended and the robot 13 returnsto the charge station, an operation mode is entered automatically. Or,the operation mode is entered by the selection of a user. When the scanmode is ended, a working map (e.g., operation area) and positions ofevery sensor in the working map are stored in the memory 133.

Step S37: In the operation mode, when one of the multiple recordedsensors detects an event, said sensor calls the robot 13 by sensing acall signal or an event signal, wherein the method of detecting an eventhas been illustrated above. For example, when the first sensor 114detects an event, a first transceiver 212 thereof sends a first eventsignal to call the robot 13. In the operation mode, when the robot 13receives wireless data which is not been matched, the scan mode isautomatically entered again to repeat the operation in Step S33.

Step S39: After receiving the first event signal, the robot 13 leavesthe charge station and moves to a first position of the first sensor114. Because the first position has been recorded in the memory 133, therobot 13 directly moves toward the first position. When the firstposition is reached, the robot 13 turns on the auxiliary image sensor135 therein (microphone also being turned on if included) to monitor acurrent status at the first position. In one non-limiting embodiment,the robot 13 further checks the flickering mode of the first sensor 114to make sure that the first position is reached correctly. In onenon-limiting embodiment, the image frames captured by the auxiliaryimage sensor 135 of the robot 13 and sound received by the microphoneare sent to a local network or uploaded to a cloud via the internetconnector 15, or transmitted to a portable device via a wirelessnetwork.

When any sensor 21 in the operation area detects an event, the smartdetection system 100 operates as the Step S39. The sensor 21 notdetecting any event does not send a call signal or event signal. In oneembodiment, the auxiliary image sensor 135 of the moveable roble 13 isonly turned on in the operation mode when the moveable roble 13 reachesan event position.

Referring to FIG. 4B, it is a flow chart of a sensor registering methodapplied in a robot according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the method including the steps of: detecting, by a robot,indicating signal from a first sensor, wherein the indicating signalcontains first identification information of the first sensor (StepS32); recognizing a first position of the first sensor in the operationarea when the robot detects the indicating signal of the first sensor(Step S34); and registering the first sensor by recording the firstidentification information and the first position of the first sensor inthe operation area (Step S36). In this embodiment, the identificationinformation of the first sensor includes, for example, the first modementioned above and FIG. 3.

As mentioned above, the robot 13 constructs an operation area in a scanmode. In the scan mode, in addition to determining a range of theoperation area, the robot 13 further records 2D or 3D appearance orfeatures of different locations and viewing angles within the operationarea. Meanwhile, in the scan mode, when the robot 13 detects indicatingsignal generated by the indicator 211 from a first sensor (Step S32),the robot 13 recognizes a first position of the first sensor in theoperation area by comparing a current image captured by the robot 13 andthe stored 2D or 3D appearance or features of different locations withinthe operation area to determine the first position of the first sensorin the operation area (Step S34). And then, the robot 13 registers thefirst sensor by recording the first identification information and thefirst position of the first sensor in the operation area as well as, insome cases, by giving an assigned number to the first sensor (Step S36).

As mentioned above, the first sensor further sends first wireless datacontaining first sensor information from to the robot 13 to allow therobot 13 to identify whether sensor message (e.g., the flickering mode)indicated by the first identification information matches the firstsensor information for sensor confirmation. This is useful when a fieldof view of the robot 13 contains multiple sensors at the same time.

If the operation area includes a second sensor, the sensor registeringmethod further includes the steps of: detecting, by the robot,indicating signal from a second sensor, wherein the indicating signalcontains second identification information of the second sensor; sendingsecond wireless data containing second sensor information from thesecond sensor to the robot; recognizing a second position of the secondsensor in the operation area when the robot detects the indicatingsignal of the second sensor; and registering the second sensor byrecording the second identification information and the second positionof the second sensor in the operation area. These steps are similar tothose associated with the first sensor only the target sensor beingchanged.

As mentioned above, the first sensor and the second sensor will send anevent signal to call the robot 13 to move to an event location. Whenreceiving event signals from multiple sensors, the robot 13 identifiesan event position according to signal strengths of or a time sequence ofreceiving the multiple event signals.

When a central server, e.g., the robot 13, receives event signals fromsensors at different positions, e.g., the above first sensor 114 and thesecond sensor 112, the robot 13 identifies an event position accordingto signal strengths or amplitudes of the first event signal and thesecond event signal. Referring to FIG. 5A, if both the first sensor 114and the second sensor 112 are audio sensors, a sensor closer to an eventoccurring location can receive a larger sound, e.g., a sound of objector people falling, and the robot 13 identifies an event positionaccording to the strength or amplitudes of the sound. In this case, theevent position may not be located at a first position of the firstsensor 114 or a second position of the second sensor 112 but between thefirst position and the second position. In addition, the temperaturesensor (e.g., far infrared sensor) generates temperature signals ofdifferent strengths due to a distance from a higher temperature object,e.g., a human body.

In addition, when receiving event signals from sensors at differentpositions, e.g., the above first sensor 114 and the second sensor 112,the robot 13 determines an event position according to a time sequenceof receiving a first event signal and a second event signal. An audiosensor is also taken as an example for illustration herein. Referring toFIG. 5A, an event occurs at, for example, time to, and a sensor I closerto an event position sends an event signal at an earlier time (e.g., attime t₁), a sensor II sends an event signal at a time (e.g., at timet₂), and a sensor III farther from the event position sends an eventsignal at a later time (e.g., at time t₃). The robot 13 identifies theevent position according to the time difference. Similarly, althoughFIG. 5A shows that the event position is at the position of sensor I, itis possible that the event position is between the position of sensor Iand the position of sensor III but closer to the position of sensor I.

In some cases, a wireless signal is sent from a radio transmitter of anelectronic device located at a position having different distances fromdifferent radio receivers (i.e. one kind of sensor herein). The centralserver locates the position of the electronic device according to signalstrengths or a receiving sequence of the radio signal received bydifferent radio receivers. That is, the event in this case is referredto an electronic device sending a wireless signal, e.g., the wirelesssignal being sent when it is turned on, ends a sleep mode or controlledto send the wireless signal.

In one non-limiting embodiment, to maintain privacy in the home, theabove first sensor 114 and second sensor 112 are not image sensors. Animage sensor 135 is only arranged in the robot 13 herein. In otherwords, the image sensor 135 is used only if an abnormal event occurs towatch the status.

In a word, the smart detection system 100 of the embodiment of thepresent disclosure includes multiple sensors and a central server, e.g.,the host mentioned above. The central server is a computer device suchas a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer orsmartphone. Or, the central server is a robot as mentioned above.

A smart detection system 100 having two sensors is also taken as anexample for illustration herein. The central server is used topreviously record a first position and a second position of a firstsensor and a second sensor respectively in an operation area. The firstand second positions are set by a user manually or confirmed using theabove mentioned scan mode. When the central server is not a robot, auser holds the central server to scan (using similar method mentionedabove), or the user holds a remote controller wirelessly coupled to thecentral server to perform the scanning. The position, model and givennumber of every sensor is confirmed and stored in the scan mode. Thescan mode is ended when the user presses a predetermined button toautomatically enter an operation mode. The first sensor is used to senda first event signal when detecting an event, and the second sensor isused to send a second event signal when detecting the same event.

In the operation mode, the central server identifies an event positionin the operation area according to signal strengths of the first andsecond event signals and/or a time sequence of receiving the first andsecond event signals.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the present disclosure further provides an eventidentifying method applicable to the smart detection system according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure, including the steps of:previously recording a first position of a first sensor and a secondposition of a second sensor in an operation area (Step S51); receiving,by a central server, a first event signal from the first sensor and asecond event signal from the second sensor, wherein the first eventsignal and the second event signal are triggered by a same event (StepS53); and comparing the first event signal and the second event signalto identify a position of said same event in the operation area (StepS55).

As mentioned above, the first position and the second position arerecorded in a scan mode based on an image frame captured by the robotand/or wireless data communicating between the robot and sensors.

As mentioned above, the first sensor and the second sensor are audiosensors, thermal sensors or radio receivers according to differentapplications.

As mentioned above, the central server is arranged to identify theposition of said same event in the operation area by comparing signalstrengths and/or a time sequence of receiving the first event signal andthe second event signal.

In one non-limiting embodiment, the smart detection system 100 alsoincludes a first image sensor (e.g., color sensor) arranged at the firstposition of the first sensor and a second image sensor (e.g., colorsensor) arranged at the second position of the second sensor, i.e. animage sensor and a non-image sensor, e.g., a thermal sensor, an audiosensor, a light sensor, a motion sensor, a physiological sensor or anacceleration sensor, being arranged at a same position. As mentionedabove, to protect the privacy, the first image sensor and the secondimage sensor are turned off before the event position is identified. Theimage sensor associated with an event position is turned on only whenthe central server identifies the event position of an event occurringin the operation area, and the image sensor at other position(s) is notturned on. That is, the event identifying method of the presentdisclosure further includes a step: turning on an image sensor arrangedat the position of said same event after the central server identifiesthe position of said same event in the operation area.

If the central server is a robot 13 and when an event position of anevent (e.g., same event detected by different sensors at differentpositions) in the operation area is identified, the robot 13 then movesto the event position and turns on the image sensor 131 thereof.

Referring to FIG. 6A, it is an operational schematic diagram of a smartdetection system 600 according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The smart detection system 600 also includes multiplesensors arranged in different spaces or at different positions as shownin FIG. 1. Each of the multiple sensors is used to send an event signalwhen detecting an event (not limited to the same event), wherein themethod of detecting the event has been illustrated above, and thusdetails thereof are not repeated herein. Each of the multiple sensors isselected from a thermal sensor, an audio sensor, a light sensor, amotion sensor, a force sensor, an acceleration sensor, an image sensor,a physiological sensor, a current sensor or a voltage sensor.

The smart detection system 600 further includes a central server that iswired or wirelessly coupled to each of the multiple sensors to receive adetected signal therefrom and home appliances to be controlled. Thecentral server of this embodiment is also a computer device includingdesktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer or asmartphone. The home appliances to be controlled include various lampsand electronic devices in which a current sensor or a voltage sensor isembedded. As long as a home appliance is turned on or turned off, thesensor therein sends an event signal (i.e. the event in this embodimentfurther including on/off of home appliances) to the central server. Thehome appliance to be controlled is referred to any lamp or electronicdevice controllable by the smart detection system 600.

The central server includes a learning engine 61, a memory 62 and acontroller 63, and the operation of the central server is implemented bysoftware and/or hardware.

The learning engine 61 uses, for example, data network structure such asa neural network learning algorithm or a deep learning algorithm tolearn, in a learning stage, an operation pattern of a user according toa time interval and a time sequence of multiple event signals sent bythe multiple sensors. In one embodiment, the event signal not within thetime interval, e.g., based on a system clock of the smart detectionsystem 600, is not selected as the machine learning material, but notlimited thereto.

The learning of the learning engine 61 determines a learning model andthe learning parameter to be recorded in the memory 62. The learningstage is entered or ended by a user.

For example referring to FIG. 6A, in the learning stage, the learningengine 61 receives an event signal 1 at time T₁, an event signal 2 attime T₂, an event signal 3 at time T₃ and so on within a time interval,wherein the event signals 1 to 3 are sent respectively by differentsensors and the event signals 1-3 are triggered by different events. Thetime interval is one time period of one day. For example, during 6 to 7o'clock in the morning, the learning engine 61 sequentially receivesevent signals of turning on bedroom light (e.g., the sensor 111 in FIG.1 sending an event signal 1), turning on hallway light (e.g., the sensor112 in FIG. 1 sending an event signal 2) and turning on a coffee machine(e.g., a sensor in the coffee machine or an image sensor 115 in FIG. 1sending an event signal 3). The learning engine 61 stores the learningparameter and learning model generated by learning these successiveevents into the memory 62.

The memory 62 includes a volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory forstoring the data network structure, learning parameter, learning modeland other parameters required in the system operation. When the learningparameter and learning model are stored, the learning stage is ended.

In the operation stage, the controller 63 compares a current timeinterval and a current time sequence of multiple current event signalswith the stored operation pattern to turn on/off the home appliances tobe controlled. The controller 63 is, for example, a microcontroller or acentral processing unit. When sequentially detecting, within a timeinterval between 6 and 7 o'clock every day morning (i.e. the currenttime interval), the bedroom light being turned on (e.g., the sensor 111in FIG. 1 sending a current event signal 1) and the hallway light beingturned on (e.g., the sensor 112 in FIG. 1 sending a current event signal2), then the controller 63 automatically turns on or warms up the coffeemachine such that the user can spend much fewer time on waiting forcooking coffee. In one non-limiting embodiment, if the user does not usethe coffee machine or the sensor 115 does not detect the user enteringthe kitchen after the coffee machine is turned on or warmed up for apredetermined interval, the controller 63 further automatically turnsoff the coffee machine to save power and extend the service lifethereof.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the present disclosure further provides an eventidentifying method applicable to the smart detection system according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure, the method including thesteps of: receiving, by a central server, a first event signal from afirst sensor and a second event signal from a second sensor (Step S61);and identifying, by the central server, a specific event when a sequenceof receiving the first event signal and the second event signal matchesa predetermined operation pattern (Step S63).

As mentioned above, the predetermined operation pattern is determined,in a learning stage, by using a learning engine 61 to learn an operationpattern of a user. And in an operation stage, a specific event isidentified, preferably within a predetermined time interval of a daysuch as in the morning, in the evening or at night, when a current timesequence of receiving the first event signal and the second event signalmatches the predetermined operation pattern.

In this aspect, after the specific event is identified, at least onehome appliance to be controlled is automatically turned on or turned offby the central server. Using the central server to predict the futureoperation of a user based on the machine-learned operation pattern, itis able to realize smart home life. In some aspects, multiple homeappliances are turned on/off simultaneously or sequentially (e.g., basedon the operation learned in the learning stage) according to a sequenceof multiple event signals received by the central server.

It is appreciated that a number of times of learning in the learningstage and a sequence of event signals are not limited to those given inthe present disclosure but determined according to the actual user'sbehavior. The central server learns multiple operation patterns withinmultiple time intervals of one day (controlled by the user) to performthe smart control on home appliances.

It should be mentioned that examples in the above embodiment such as anumber of sensors, flickering patterns, time differences, signalstrengths are only intended to illustrate but not to limit the presentdisclosure. The payload of the packet of the wireless data contains atleast the bit for indicating the event occurrence and the bit forindicating the sensor information so as to indicate the event beingdetected by a specific sensor.

As mentioned above, various sensors are necessary in the smart home, andhow to automatically identify the sensor which is related to an event isone requirement to realize the accurate control. Accordingly, thepresent disclosure provides a smart detection system (e.g., FIGS. 2 and6A) and an operating method thereof (e.g., FIG. 4B) that accuratelyidentify an event position when an event occurs using a central serverto communicate with every sensor previously for recording its positionand model. When the central server simultaneously receives multipleevent signals associated with a same event, the event position isdetermined according to signal strengths and/or a time sequence ofreceiving the multiple event signals (e.g., FIG. 5B). In addition, thecentral server predicts to turn on/off a home appliance by learning theoperation rule of a user to realize the automatic control (e.g., FIG.6B).

Although the disclosure has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is not used to limit the disclosure. It is to beunderstood that many other possible modifications and variations can bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sensor confirmation method applied to a robot,the robot operating in an operation area, the sensor confirmation methodcomprising: detecting, by the robot, existence of a first sensor by afirst indicating signal, wherein the first indicating signal containsfirst identification information of the first sensor; receiving firstwireless data containing first sensor information from the first sensor;capturing first image frames, by the robot, containing the firstindicating signal of the first sensor, wherein the first indicatingsignal is transmitted by an optical light; and identifying whethersensor message indicated by the first identification information matchesthe first sensor information for sensor confirmation.
 2. The sensorconfirmation method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:recognizing a first position of the first sensor in the operation areaby the robot based on the first image frames captured by the robot whenthe robot detects the first indicating signal.
 3. The sensorconfirmation method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:determining a first event by a first event signal from the first sensor.4. The sensor confirmation method as claimed in claim 3, furthercomprising: moving the robot to the first position of the first sensorupon receiving the first event signal; and capturing image frames by anauxiliary image sensor.
 5. The sensor confirmation method as claimed inclaim 3, further comprising: detecting, by the robot, existence of asecond sensor by a second indicating signal, wherein the secondindicating signal contains second identification information of thesecond sensor; receiving second wireless data containing second sensorinformation from the second sensor; capturing second image frames, bythe robot, containing the second indicating signal of the second sensor,wherein the second indicating signal is transmitted by another opticallight; and identifying whether sensor message indicated by the secondidentification information matches the second sensor information forsensor confirmation.
 6. The sensor confirmation method as claimed inclaim 5, further comprising: recognizing a second position of the secondsensor in the operation area by the robot based on the second imageframes captured by the robot when the robot detects the secondindicating signal.
 7. The sensor confirmation method as claimed in claim6, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor have different sensortypes.
 8. The sensor confirmation method as claimed in claim 6 furthercomprising: determining a second event by a second event signal from thesecond sensor; and identifying an event position according to signalstrengths of the first event signal and the second event signal.
 9. Thesensor confirmation method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:determining a second event by a second event signal from the secondsensor; and identifying an event position according to a time sequenceof receiving the first event signal and the second event signal.
 10. Thesensor confirmation method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the firstsensor and the second sensor are not image sensors, and the firstposition is different from the second position.
 11. An event identifyingmethod, comprising: receiving, by a central server, a first event signalfrom a first sensor and a second event signal from a second sensor,respectively; and identifying, by the central server, a specific eventwhen a time sequence of receiving the first event signal and the secondevent signal matches a predetermined operation pattern of a user. 12.The event identifying method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:turning on, by the central server, a home appliance after the specificevent is identified.
 13. The event identifying method as claimed inclaim 12, wherein the first event signal and the second event signal aretriggered by different events, and said turning on the home appliance isnot identical to said different events.
 14. The event identifying methodas claimed in claim 13, further comprising: turning off the homeappliance after the home appliance is turned on but is not used for apredetermined interval.
 15. The event identifying method as claimed inclaim 14, wherein whether the home appliance is used or not is detectedby the home appliance or by a third sensor different from the firstsensor and the second sensor.
 16. The event identifying method asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the central server identifies the specificevent within a predetermined time interval of a day.
 17. The eventidentifying method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the predeterminedtime interval of a day is between 6 and 7 o'clock in the morning. 18.The event identifying method as claimed in claim 11, wherein thepredetermined operation pattern is recorded in a learning stageaccording to a sequence of the first sensor and the second sensorgenerating event signals.